How A 7th Century Saxon Thegn Shall Be Armed

Athene was an Anglo-Saxon lord who held his land directly from the king in return for military service in times of war. This was long before the arrival of the Normans, and even before the Vikings. So England was split up into kingdoms such as Northumbria, Wessex, East Anglia and Sussex. The 6th century would have been around the time when Christianity was beginning to make a comeback in England, but the vast majority of Anglo-Saxons would still be pagan. First, Athene wears his woolen coat, called a kaftan. The kaftan is thick and adds a layer of padded protection. In the early medieval period, they were quite universal throughout all of Europe and further afield, from England to as far as Mongolia. Of course, fabrics like this would rarely survive into the modern day, so all we have to go by is contemporary artwork and written descriptions of the clothing. Mail at this time was very expensive and was not accessible to all warriors. Even high status soldiers may not get their hands on mail, since crafters who possessed the knowledge and capabilities to make mail during this time in history were extremely rare. After the fall of the Roman Empire, many metalworkers moved away to find work in more prosperous areas, so Britain was stripped of many of its skilled workforce. In the Anglo-Saxon period, Athene ranked below all other classes of nobility, but was still considerably elevated above other warriors in the Saxon class system. A sign of Athene's status is his sword, which is a highly ornate and expensive weapon. Most Saxons would instead rely on spears and axes, as these required less metal and less skill to make, so they were cheaper and more widely available. Spears and axes were also commonly used for other things such as hunting and chopping wood, so they were a reliable item in the household which could be picked up and used as a weapon in times of trouble. Athene also wears his belt, which has a pouch for carrying items in, usually containing a flint and steel, some timber, a comb, and other small items which were needed day to day. The belt also features a hefty knife called a sax. This is believed to have been where the Saxons got their name from, known as the knife wielders or knife raiders. The sax was a very universal tool, capable of chopping meat, cutting through bone, turning firewood into tinder, or skinning animals, as well as being a vicious weapon to be used in close quarters combat. They came in a variety of sizes, and seemed to be very personal items, with originals being found with inscriptions, lettering, symbols, or line work being etched into both the blades and the handles. Speaking of the handles, they were usually quite simple components, usually made of either wood or bone, although sometimes they would have horn or brass decorations on them as well. We see saxes being used all throughout the Saxon period in England, and seem to disappear in around the 12th century. They came in a variety of blade types as well, with some of the largest ones being full length swords called scram saxes or lang saxes, which essentially means long knife. The fane checks his lance or spear. Although the Saxons weren't especially known for mounted combat, many high status warriors would indeed be on horseback, fighting with spear and shield. We don't know to what extent they fought with cavalry, but horse skeletons have been found at multiple high status warrior burials from this period in England, so we assume that they played an important role in Anglo-Saxon warfare. Next, the fane wears his helmet. This component of armour also represents his upper class as a warrior, yet doesn't make him particularly high class. This helmet is a reproduction of the Shorewell, a 6th century Saxon helmet found on the Isle of Wight. While metal items like helmets were certainly expensive and only reserved for the upper classes, the Shorewell appears to be considerably lower status than other early to mid-Saxon helmets found in warrior burials across England. Similar Saxon helmet finds from around the same period would be the Woolaston, which is currently on display at the Leeds Royal Armouries, or the Coppergate, which is on display in the Yorkshire Museum. The Shorewell is a Spangenhelm construction, where multiple small plates of metal are riveted to metal bands that go around the head, reinforcing the helmet with multiple layers of overlapping steel or iron. Now, the fane equips his round shield and spear. By the latter end of the Roman Empire in Britain, round shields once again became the most common shield types used by all classes of warrior. They were relatively cheap and easy to make, and are believed to have been mostly disposable, so were expected to get ruined in a battle and have a new one built afterwards. However, there have also been some shields from the Anglo-Saxon period which were clearly not throwaway items, and were instead highly prized decorative pieces with multiple ornate fittings adorning them. The Sutton Hoo shield is a perfect example of this, where garnet-encrusted gold finery has been attached to the shield, depicting various animals and cultural patternwork. These were certainly ceremonial shields, and are unlikely to be used in combat since they are considerably heavier than your normal round shield. Our fane is wearing a shield lined in a sheet of horn to give it a glossy finish, something that would definitely be reserved for only the higher status warriors in Anglo-Saxon England. The majority of the kit that you see today is based on the artefacts found from grave 47 of the Snape Saxon Burials in Suffolk. The artefacts in the burial clearly show high status, especially considering that a boat has also been buried with the person to whom the grave was dedicated. The grave did, however, lack many of the highly ornate items found at similar sites such as Sutton Hoo. Anglo-Saxon warrior burials are quite rare, but they can reveal incredible insights into the life of a Saxon warrior, including telling us how far they travelled to trade with other cultures, thanks to some of the jewellery and finery that we see in the graves.